In spring of 1861, Chief Sky set up a hunting and fishing camp near the South Fork of the Flambeau River, within the present day Chequamegon National Forest, east of Park Falls, Wisconsin. Here, he noticed a treetop nest, with two fledgling eagles, and to capture them, cut down the tree. One eaglet died from the fall, and the other became the young Indian's pet. That summer, Chief Sky and his father canoed down the Chippewa River on a trading expedition. At Jim Falls, Wisconsin, they encountered Daniel McCann, who lived nearby in Eagle Point. The Indians sold the eagle to McCann in exchange for a bushel of corn.